Clau the Combat Mage
by Demonic-Kat
Summary: Clau and her friends from the USA have come to Hogwarts!  Things get interesting when Clau breaks Draco's nose on the very first day, and now he just can't seem to get her off his mind! Too bad Clau wants nothing to do with him! Good luck Draco!
1. Chapter 1, Clau has arrived!

**Heya this is Demonic-Kat here, and this is gonna be my first Harry Potter story. I gotta throw out a thank you to my beta, trust me she knows who she is, and she's pretty awesome if I do say so myself [Which I do.] Also I wanna thank KairiGokuJr, I wouldn't have started this story if I hadn't been inspired by yours, so keep up the good work~! Anyways, on with the story!**

So here I am. On a plane, flying to a castle. Oh joy. Wait, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Clau. I'm slim and tan. My hair is cyan blue and I have chocolate brown eyes. I'm pretty average in height, about 5'6", and I'm fifteen years old. My hair is short and apparently fluffy, except for a long strip that hangs down my back. I always wrap it in black cloth, except for a little tuft at the end. I like it that way.

Oh, looks like the plane is landing now. I can feel the plane touch down gently, and roll to a stop. This must be Hogwarts. My friends and I are the transfer students from the USA. We're here on an exchange program from Merlin Mages Academy in New Jersey.

We all stand and get in a line, waiting for the door to open. Once it does we step off the plane and step down a few stairs before finally reaching the ground. The kids here all dress in cloaks, weird. At Merlin's we can dress however we like. I feel a bit out of place, I'm in torn jeans and a scarlet tee. Probably didn't help that I had some bracelets on both wrists either. Does no one here know about anything besides earrings?

At any rate, it seems like I've broken a record. They don't even know me yet and already I'm getting weird looks. 'Just wait,' I think, 'You haven't seen anything yet.' I glance around for a bit, before finally recognizing the symbols on the cloaks. Those were the houses we had been told about. I was waiting for someone from… What was it again? Oh yeah, Gryffindor. That was what the funky hat on the plane had yelled at me, so apparently that was my new house. I was the only one in this house. The twins went off to some raven place, three went to huffle-something or other, and the rest went to the snake house. I should really start to learn the names of these things.

Finally someone runs up to me. He has black glasses, with tape in the middle, messy black hair, and almond green eyes. Says his name is Harry Potter. That sounds familiar, but I really don't remember. I don't read papers much. Sketching is much more productive in my opinion.

He leads me up to the castle, making polite small talk. This is kind of akward, but we'll get over it. He wanted to know more about to USA, and slowly we grew more comfortable talking to each other. He even asked me why I carried around a skate-board, and laughed when I told him I rode it to class. Guess they don't have stuff like that here. Then, behind him, I see a little kid. She was surrounded by four boys with the green snake symbol, who were clearly picking on her.

So I did the first thing I thought of, and darted over, stepping protectively in front of her. I then procceded to glare at the boys, who were slightly surprised. Guess no one bothered to stand up to them. Wouldn't they be in for a nice surprise?

"What do you think you're doing _girl_?" Asked one of them scathingly. He had blond hair, gray eyes, and a sneer on his face.

"I could ask you the same thing," I sneered back, "But I won't, I know you're type." I replied, a glare gracing my features. "So back off." I said firmly, making it clear that I had no intention of going anywhere.

"Make me." He taunted.

I was only to happy to oblige. I took a step forward, and before he could react, I sent a punch at his face. I felt something snap beneath my fist, and pulled back. My knuckles would be bruised for sure, but it was worth it. I broke his nose. Prick deserved it too.

I could see the blood seeping out from beneath his hands that were clasped protectively in front of his nose. His friends led him away, but a one of them shot the last word back at me, informing me that I would 'regret this'. 'Wanna bet?' I thought triumphantly, before feeling someone's arms wrap around me from behind. I stiffened at the unwelcome contact, before the girl let go and ran off to tell her friends what had occurred.

Then, I hear a voice behind me, and turn around. "I can't believe you punched Malfoy on your first day!" Said Harry, clearly please. I could really get along with this guy. Gryffindor was starting to feel like home already.

**-X-X-X-**

I kicked off gently, my board gliding smoothly against the even floors. Last night had been fun, and my new house had given me a warm welcome. They actually threw a party for me! Not to mention I got a lot of praise for punching that Malfoy guy. Apparently he has a lot of enemy's in the school. Since I had punched him, I had gained something of a celebrity status overnight. I don't see why it's such a big deal. I mean, why hasn't anyone punched him sooner?

Here it is. I picked up my board and strolled into the classroom, my long strand of hair bumping against my back. Today I'm wearing black skinny jeans and a black shirt with a picture of an anime girl on it. I love anime and manga. I even draw it, which is why when I sat down, I pulled out a sketch book. I draw with precision and care, so I take my time. I just finished drawing the rough outline of a manga character's head, before I felt something. You know that weird feeling you get when someone's staring at you? Yeah, I got that feeling. I turn around slowly, only to see that kid from yesterday sitting a few seats away, staring at me. I was about to ask him what his problem was, when Harry plopped down next to me, and started to talk to me about this class, telling me a bit about Professor Lupin, the teacher here. I quickly lost my train of thought, forgetting about the boy who was still staring curiously at my back…


	2. Chapter 2, Meyhem, I dare you

**Heya! Thankies for reading Chapter one, I'm already working on chapter three. I write this during school so hopefully updates will be pretty often, as I get bored on a daily basis and the only thing I can do there is either sketch or write, and by this story you can tell what wins out most of the time~! Oh, a quick note. -D-D-D- is Draco's POV, -C-C-C- is Clau's point of view, and -X-X-X- is a time skip. Just thought I should point that out incase it confuses anyone ^_^**

**Thanks to- **

**My loyal beta, you rock my socks.**

**My friends who read and enjoy this story, their laughter and happiness keeps me writing~ [Yes beta-chan, this includes you]**

**KairiGokuJr, You were the first person to favorite my story, and I'm glad you like it. You're one of my favorite authors, so it's pretty cool knowing you like my writing. Also, there's a chipmunk in here you should be familiar with...**

**Lillambdragon- Thanks for the review, made my day~!**

**So, I'll try my best to keep the updates coming! Feel free to mail or review me comments or ideas, one good idea helps kill writers block ^_^**

_Chapter 2, Mayhem, I dare you._

Harry and I just started discussing Quidditch scores when the Professor walked into the room. He smiled kindly and introduced himself as Remus Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He seemed really nice. "Wands out." He ordered, getting ready to start class. I raised my hand.

"Yes Ms…. Clau?" He said questioningly. He was probably confused because I didn't have a last name on the school records. I have one, I just don't like to use it.

"What if you don't have a wand?"

"You should have a wand," He said, looking confused, "Did you forget it?"

"No, we," I said, referring to the other exchange students as well as myself, "Don't use wands."

He looked genuinely surprised, but also cautious, like he wasn't sure if this was a joke or not. "Care to demonstrate to the class why you don't use a wand?" "Not at all, but I'll need an assistant." I said as I walked up to the front of the classroom.

"Harry, care to join her?"

Harry smiled and walked up, standing opposite of me, wand in hand. I nodded approvingly before pointing at his wand, which then soared into my hand. I had used a silent, wandless summoning spell. Then I pointed at Harry; "Silencio." I said, and his mouth snapped shut. "Now do magic and get your wand back." I ordered slyly. Needless to say he failed. I smiled knowingly and handed him back his wand as the class applauded.

"Well I think you'll do fine without a wand." Replied Professor Lupin, smiling wryly.

_**-D-D-D-**_

I watched the new girl, who's name I learned was Clau, carefully. I was surprised when she could do nonverbal, wandless magic, and claimed that all of the exchange students could do that as well. It's extremely difficult, even for adults. I resolved to keep an eye on her.

She partnered with Potter for class, and practiced simple stunning and shield spells like the rest of the class. I was so busy watching her that Blaise managed to disarm me. I picked up my wand as he strolled over to me.

"So is that her, the one who broke your nose?" He asked, gesturing to Clau.

I nodded sullenly, not happy that he had brought that up. It was embarrassing to get your nose broken, not to mention painful. It made it worse that it had been broken by a Gryffindor.

"She's pretty huh?" asked Blaise, whistling appreciatively. I grudgingly nodded. Yes, she was rather attractive.

"What of it Blaise?" I asked in a clipped tone.

"Nothing." Replied Blaise innocently. I narrowed my eyes at him and was about to say something, when he dashed out of the room. Class was over. I glared after him, before stalking out of the room. I had History of Magic next.

**-X-X-X-**

I sat down in a random seat, not bothering to see who I had sat next to. This class was all Slytherin so no one would bother him. Well, no one other than Binns, who started to drone on about giants in one of his lectures. It was becoming harder and harder to stay awake.

That is, until I got poked in the arm. I turned my head, eyebrow raised, only to see the girl sitting next to me. She had black hair with a pink streak in it. She was slim and pale with black eyes.

"Sorry about Clau, but you know how combat mages get." She said, her American accent marking her as one of the exchange students.

"… Combat mage?"

"Oh that's right," she said apologetically, before launching into an explanation.

"Let me explain, each student at our school picks a classification, their classes are based on what they choose. Combat mages usually grow up to be aurors or body guards. Some of the most popular classes are Healers, Beast Tamers, Charmers, Potion Experts, and of course, Combat mages. Then you have specializations within your chosen class, like Combat mages can be close or long range fighters, and offensive or defensive."

I listened intently to the girl, storing the information away for later. This wasn't how they did things at any of the schools I had ever heard about. It was very interesting.

"Of course, we take normal classes too, we just take advanced classes depending on our specializations."

I nodded, that made sense.

"Moving on, my name's Eva Mihael, nice to meet'cha." she said, holding out her hand.

I shook her hand. "Draco Malfoy."

**-C-C-C-**

I giggled again, getting looks from some of the girls in the class, but I couldn't help it! Professor Trelawny was hilarious!

At any rate, now seemed like a good time to break out some cookies. As the professor walked over.

"Yes dear?"

"Y'see… I have some Muggle cookies, they're called Fortune Cookies." The professor looked intrigued as I reached into my bag and dropped a cookie on the desk. I could see the Muggle-borns holding back laughs, while the wizard kids looked intrigued.

"What do they do?"

"Inside is a fortune." I explained. I watched her reach tentatively forward and take the cookie, gingerly cracking it open and removing the fortune. She read the fortune before letting out a small shriek of surprise and dropping it. I barely held back my laughter as I darted forward and picked up the fortune. It read: 'About time I got outta that cookie.'. I snickered quietly before composing myself for what was about to come next.

"I-It's real!" yelped the professor. I nodded solemnly.

"Yes, but it's not as powerful as this." I said, whipping a black ball out of my bag, and watching the wizard kids shrink back as the muggle-borns collapsed into silent giggles.

"W-what does it do?" Asked the professor fearfully.

"It knows all. You just have to ask it a yes or no question. Watch." I shook the ball gently, speaking my question clearly. "Will I get hurt today?" The answer floated to the top, it read, yes. Then, once everyone had seen it, I went to take a step and purposely tripped.

"Ouch!" Professor Trelawny gasped and backed away.

"It knows!" She cried, clearly distressed as I got to my feet. I made sure to nudge the ball towards her.

"Look, it wants to talk to you." I said spookily, before she shrieked in terror and ran out of the room. I finally dissolved into giggles. I saw a wizard boy eyeing the ball nervously.

"I-it's… Not…. Real..!" I managed to say between laughs. The flabbergasted look on his face was enough to make Harry collapse into laughter next to me.

**-X-X-X-**

We sat in the grass near the lake, all of us in a circle. It had been about a week since the incident in Divination, and everything had gone smoothly. I had settled into a routine, and now it was time for the much awaited truth or dare game. We sat in a circle, the players were Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, and of course, the twins, Yue and Yuki.

"So George, truth or dare?"

"Dare of course."

"Go embarrass a snake person." I ordered. I still didn't bother to learn house names, well besides my own, so I simply went by the animal on the house crest.

"Gladly." He got up and darted over to a Slytherin second year. He quickly accio'd a chipmunk into his hand, and grabbed the boy. He shoved the furry animal into his hands and held his wand to his own throat.

"Ladies and gentleman!" He called, voice echoing due to magic, "Behold! This boy has just made love to a chipmunk!" The boy flushed and grabbed his wand to hex George, only to find that he was gone. He was already back in our circle, sitting down and shooting out a question.

"Yue, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Are you and Yuki really twins? You look like copies of each other, but you like like total opposites."

"Yep, we're really twins." replied Yue, blue eyes sparkling playfully. Her strawberry blonde hair hung down her back, exactly like her sister's.

"Wow." Said Fred and George in unison and Yue nodded.

"Mmmhmm. Hermione, truth or dare?"

"Dare." she replied confidently.

"I dare you to trick the first years into starting a cult that worships the giant squid in the lake."

"Absolutely NOT!" she said indignantly.

"Fine." Replied Yuki as Yue was pouting.

"Then I dare you to steal Ron's pants." Hermione sighed.

"Hand 'em over Ron." Ron grumbled and proceeded to take of his pants, handing them to Hermione, who giggled at his boxers. They had little gold 'R's all over them. Hermione then threw Ron's pants at me. I handed them back to Ron, who nodded at me gratefully before putting them on.

"Truth or Dare Clau?"

"Dare!" I scoffed playfully, as if I would ever pick anything else.

"You have to date Harry for the entire day." She said, smirking evilly. Harry and I gulped. It was only nine AM. It's gonna be a loooong day…


	3. Chapter 3, Truth? Dare? Crazy?

**Yo! Here's the third chapter~! Be happy I have the attention span of a caffeinated Goldfish when it comes to school~ lol. Anyways, this chapter is gonna be fun. Remember, if you got any suggestions feel free to review or message me. Now my usual thanks and responses to reviews~**

**BornOneWing-My ever loyal beta-chan~ Glad you liked the oneshot I made for you, I'll be posting that soon enough.**

**KairiGokuJr-Yeah, that Chipmunk really does get around. Hope Ms. Norris doesn't eat him or something.**

**Jazzie123-Thanks for putting me on alert, enjoy~!**

**All my nameless viewers-I know you're there~! [My story traffic says so~] So thanks so much for reading!**

_Truth? Dare? Crazy?_

The game ended quickly after that, everyone was content to watch Harry and I squirm. We were in the Great Hall eating breakfast with one hand now. Why one hand? Because Hermione insisted holding hands is what couples did, and it was generally not a good idea to upset Hermione.

I swallowed the last bite of my toast and looked over to Harry. We sighed in unison and got up, still holding hands. We did our best to ignore the looks we were getting. Easier said than done.

**-X-X-X-**

Hogsmeade was pretty this time of year. It was early fall and all the trees were starting to change color. First I dragged Harry into Zonko's Joke Shop. I like to cause chaos, and Zonko's was only too happy to help. By the time we left I had two bags filled with plenty of pranking materials. After that we had butterbeer, and now we are sitting outside discussing quidditch.

"So far the US has had a good season."

"Not as good as Bulgaria."

"Yeah but they have Krum, so they don't count." I informed Harry seriously, before we both started to laugh. Honestly I've had a good time, but Harry and I are more like brother and sister. Trust me, we both feel the same way, we got this conversation out of the way while drinking butterbeer earlier. If only the rest of the school could see this, but apparently the rumors tend to win.

**-X-X-X-**

The second Harry and I walked into the Entrance Hall, we were ambushed by Hermione, who demanded that we kiss, as apparently being a couple for a day wasn't complete if we didn't kiss.

"No way in hell. No offense Harry." I said.

"None taken, I'm with you on this one." He agreed, watching me glare daggers at Hermione, who smirked. That wasn't good. Suddenly I felt hands grabbing my shoulders and pushing me towards Harry. I looked up only to see Yue and Yuki shoving me towards Harry, while Hermione and Ron were shoving him towards me. I dug in my heels, but it was no use. The twins were also Combat Mages, and while they fought as a team, they were still very strong.

**-D-D-D-**

I walked into the Entrance Hall only to see Potter and Clau being harassed by that mudblood Granger. I'd heard a rumor Clau and Potter were dating, and for some reason that irritated me. I wasn't quite sure why though. Clau was a Gryffindor of all things! The possibility that I like her is almost zero, I've never really 'liked' anyone before, and I don't intend to start with a Gryffindor. I narrowed my eyes at Clau. Stupid girl, making me feel these useless emotions.

Then I saw Potter and Clau being forced towards each other, and the comment slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"How sad Potter, Can't get a girlfriend without help these days?" I sneered as I walked closer. I watched all movement stop, before they started to reach for their wands, but I was already gone. Walking down another hallway. That had been stupid, why had I said that? Still, I couldn't help feel happy at the fact that Clau hadn't kissed that idiot Potter…

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I didn't hear the footsteps behind me until the last second. I whirled around, hand heading for my wand, only to get the wind knocked out of me as Clau hugged me. I was stunned and stiffened at the contact, not that Clau seemed to notice. She let go after a moment and beamed up at me.

"Thanks so much!" She said, clearly relieved. "Harry and I would have been forced to kiss if it wasn't for you! You saved me from that stupid dare!"

"..Dare?" I asked, my face carefully neutral.

"Yeah, Hermione dared me to date Harry for a day, which was really irritating because he's like a brother you know?" Then I heard footsteps coming down the hall, and Clau let out a cute yelp of surprise.

"Gotta run!" She said before vanishing around the corner. Strange girl… Of course, it made me happy that she and Potter weren't dating, but she thought of Potter as a brother. That was simply ridiculous. I looked at the floor and sullenly marched into my common room, only to be ambushed by Blaise and Eva, who demanded I hang out with them tomorrow. I sighed and nodded, going upstairs and collapsing into my bed before finally falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4, Square root of negative one

**Here's chapter four! Sorry it took so long! I had writers block T_T The bane of writers everywhere. Anyway, thank goodness for my tech class today, I was able to write all period, so here we are! Yay! Also, for you readers who don't like swearing, there is ONE swear in this chapter. Not a big deal, just thought I'd let'cha know.**

**Thanks to-**

**BornOneWing- You're so awesome Beta-Chan~, thanks for the help on this chapter!**

**WeaverOfBlackMagic- Thanks for putting me on alert, and thanks for the compliment!**

**Liliambdragon- Yes, the crazy is rampant.**

**K Finace-Thanks for putting me on alert!**

**KairiGokuJr- I saw your shout out! You rule! Loved the new chapter btw~**

**Stormy Night Rain- Thanks for reading! You rock~ **

**Emblack7- Thanks for putting me on alert~!**

**Also: If you guys have any questions or suggestions about what is going to happen in the story, review it in and I'll do my best to answer! Heck, I can even have the characters answer, so if you have something you'd like to ask Clau, Draco, or anyone else in here, review it in!**

_Chapter 4, The square root of negative one_

Clau's arms and forehead stung. They were covered in small scratches, and while they were shallow, they still hurt, not to mention bled. She turned down the next hallway, only to nearly smack into someone. Oh, it was that blond guy from earlier.

"…You're bleeding." He stated, glancing at her arms and forehead.

"Yeah, the owls don't seem to like me." She said wryly. Birds and her had never really gotten along. She was too… Predatory for their liking. Probably due to her combat training.

She was tough, I grudgingly admitted. Girls like Pansy would be bawling by now, not to mention clinging to me or the guy nearest to them.

"Do you know where the nurse is?" Ah. Of course. She would want to get those cuts healed. I pointed her in the right direction and watched her leave. Yes, I liked Clau. Of course, it was only a physical attraction. It couldn't be anything more. Impossible.

**-X-X-X-X-X-**

I groaned silently as Pansy clung to my arm. I sat down for dinner, and earned a sympathetic look from Blaise. I swear if Pansy wasn't from an important pure-blood family, I would have nothing to do with her. The girl was louder than a banshee sometimes.

**-X-X-X-X-X-**

I managed to slip away from Pansy after dinner, and made my way to the lake. I was going to head down to the shore, when I heard a voice. I pulled out my wand, ready for a fight, but I was in no danger. It was just Loony Lovegood, talking to herself. At least, that's what I thought, until I heard a voice reply. Clau's voice, to be exact.

"Nargles…?" "Oh yes. They like to hide in mistletoe."

"Good thing I don't like mistletoe, right Luna?" Luna hummed in agreement. "Anyway, I have to get going. I'll talk to you later Luna." Said Clau, as she got up and walked off. I waited a moment before walking over. I scowled. Loony was sitting in my spot.

"Move it Loony." She looked up.

"Why?"

"I don't have to answer your questions." I sneered. Luna got up.

"Bye. Watch out for Marshwatts." She warned, before humming and walking away. Strange girl…

**-Clau-X- Clau-X-Clau-**

The morning light shone in the entrance hall. It illuminated many people, but not the one I was looking for. I let out a hiss of irritation. Then I saw a flash of platinum blond hair. Only one person had that color hair. I stalked towards its, clearly angry.

"Blondie." I hissed. He turned around.

"Yes?" He said coolly. I then proceeded to bitch-slap him. The sound of me slapping him rang out through the quiet entry way. He was shocked.

"Don't ever mess with my friends." I said, glaring at him, before walking into the great hall, hands shoved in my pockets. I sat down next to Harry, who gave me an odd look.

"What's got you all worked up?" "Blondie picked on Luna." I growled. Harry scowled.

"That git."

"I back-handed him." I muttered, munching sulkily on my toast. He deserved more than a slap. Harry looked surprised for a moment, before laughing.

"You back-handed Malfoy!" He said gleefully, still laughing.

**-X-X-X-X-X-**

Breakfast was over quickly, and I walked to the Arithmancy room. I sat down in a vacant desk, not noticing that Draco was in this class too. I zoned out just as Pansy started to talk.

"Is that her?" She sneered, pointing at me. "Yes." Said Draco, clearly annoyed. Pansy was irritating, especially when he was trying to focus on the lesson. Pansy glared at me. I looked up just in time to hear the end of the lecture.

"So X equals seven, any questions?" I raised my hand. I was done with this class.

"Yes Ms… Clau?"

"What is the square root of negative one?"

"That's not a real number Ms. Clau."

"It has to be. I just said it." The teacher froze, before running to his desk, and flipping frantically through several books. I had a point apparently. As he was occupied for the moment, I took the chance to slip out the door and out of class.

**-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-**

I got up slowly, walking silently to the door. Pansy and Blaise hadn't noticed my absence, they were too busy laughing at the teacher. Perfect I slipped out of the room and caught a glance of Clau's back just as she turned the corner. I decided to follow her and see what she was up too. She must have left class for a reason. I tailed after her, slowly catching up. Then, she turned around.

"How- " I started to say, only to be cut off.

"Did I know you were following me? You made too much noise." That made sense.

"So, what do you want?" She asked.

"I'm not allowed to walk?"

"Not near me."

"Still mad about earlier?" I said, in a teasing tone.

"Obviously." She stated, eyes narrowing, before she turned around and started to walk away. I easily caught up to her.

"Running away?"

"You'll wish I was in a minute, Ferret Boy." I glared. Potter must have told her.

"Shut up Mudblood." I snapped, calling her the worst thing I could think of.

"Oh I wish." She retorted, somewhat wistfully. I paused. She wished to be a mudblood? She wasn't one? I looked at her in confusion. She looked… Sad. For some reason, that bothered me. It bothered me a lot more than I'd care to admit.

"Go away." She said, turning the corner and disappearing. I didn't follow.


	5. Chapter 5, Of Death Eaters and Runes

-X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X-

I took another sip of Butterbeer as I looked down at the parchment in front of me. It was a letter from Mother, that had arrived this morning. She regularly sends me updates on other Purebloods, and gossip as well. I read it regardless of the fact that it's rather tedious. It's important to be up to date on the actions of other Purebloods; it's only expected that the sole heir to the Malfoy name would be well informed.

I continued to read the letter, but one paragraph caught my eye.

'**Have you heard about the Aleste case yet? It just recently went public. Apparently the Aleste's daughter ran off and mysterious vanished a few years ago. She reappeared for a while for the court case, and vanished with her brother when he was given custody of her. Rumor has it that she'd moved to America. I've included a description of her from the Daily Prophet, apparently they're dying for a new photograph, all of theirs are dreadfully out of date.'**

I reached into the envelope while finishing the rest of the letter, looking for more information. There was none. I pulled out the old clipping from the paper and scanned the description.

_Eleven years old, her silver hair goes down to her mid-back. She has chocolate brown eyes and is estimated to be about 4'6". She's extremely fast and short-tempered, so watch out!_

There was also a picture at the bottom of the article. There was a young girl with her silky hair mussed slightly, probably from running from the reporters. The girl in the picture flipped off the reporters with a backwards piece sign before darting off.

She looked… Familiar, though I couldn't put my finger on who she was. I finished off the last of my Butterbeer, and left a galleon on the table, before exiting the tavern. The misty air was cold and I pulled my coat more tightly around me. I glanced around, noticing that the town was almost devoid of students. All of them must have headed back to school already. I sighed, looking at the light fog my breath made, before starting the long trek back to Hogwarts.

-Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau-

I heard a few footsteps a ways behind me, and I figured it was probably just another late student or two. The snow crunched underneath my heels as I stepped into a clearing. It was rather large and surrounded by trees, with the path back to Hogwarts winding through the middle.

Then a sharp crack rang out. It would've been nearly silent to most others, but to a Combat Mage they might as well have shouter their position. I whirled around to face them, only to see two fully grown men with masks on their faces, wearing black robes, with their wands out.

I wasted no time, and moved quickly. I appeared to the right of the first man, and lashed out with a lightning fast kick, which sent the man flying into a nearby tree. A red spell flew over my head, missing by an inch. I held out a hand and sent a blue spell of my own at the other man, but it bounced off a Protego charm as he blocked it.

The other man was getting up now, and I was outnumbered. Runic symbols started to appear on my hands, making their way up my arms. The runes glowed a faint blue color. I jumped at one of the men, punching him in the chest. The air around my hand distorted as I punched him, before returning to normal. The man flew much further than he had when I had kicked him, and actually smashed through a bush this time, before crashing into a rock. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

A red spell hit me and the back, and I fell face first into the snow. I heard footsteps approaching as the man approached me curiously, then bent down to see if I was unconscious. My eyes snapped open just as I grabbed his arm. I tightened my grip and several cracks were heard, before I got up and threw him into his partner. That hadn't even been a challenge.

The man grabbed his partner and vanished with a pop, leaving me alone in the clearing. I watched to make sure they had really left, before looking down at my arms. They were still glowing. I swore softly, that really wasn't good. I pulled my lightly colored jacked tighter, trying to cover the glow, but it didn't do much. Too bad I had decided not to wear the school robes, they would've come in handy right about now.

I didn't see the other person who had been in the clearing.

X-X-X-X

I made it back to the castle quickly, and made my way over to the twins, scowling. They saw the glow and looked up at her, "You can't shut it down can you?" They asked. I sent them dirty look. That was pretty obvious.

Combat mages had many spells in their bloodstream, some of them from constant enhancement and training, while others simply came from genetics. The magic activated the glow along the mage's hands and arms. Usually things like this were fine and wouldn't tire the mage, but there was a slight problem at the moment: This power was fueled and activated by emotion, and it was shut off the same way. The stronger the glow, the stronger your emotions, and the easier it was to use the power without getting tired. If a mage like Clau were say, ambushed, she would feel some surprise and minor irritation. That's it; and that's a problem. Combat mages were taught to only fight for what they believed in, and the Combat Runes reflected that. If you fought without enough emotion, then the runes would stay active until you felt a strong enough emotion to shut them off.

That was Clau's current issue, she couldn't shut them down at the moment, and was getting rather tired, not to mention irritated. It was embarrassing for a Combat Mage not to be able to turn of their runes, not that anyone here would know that, but still…

Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X

I had watched Clau go inside the castle after she talked with her friends for a moment. I decided to follow her to find out what on earth that glow was. She was turning down many empty halls and corridors, and was clearly avoiding people. Did it have something to do with that glow? I had seen the fight with those Death Eaters earlier, and I was amazed at her skills. Combat Mages were a force to be reckoned with.

Then, my foot clicked on a tile, and Clau whirled around. My grey eyes met her chocolate brown ones.


	6. Chapter 6, Rescue!

**Sorry for the wait guys! I've been so busy with school, but I worked extra hard to get this chapter up for everyone, so ENJOY!**

**An EPIC SUPER THANKS to... Hidden-Spirit! Your review was actually why I worked so hard to even start this chapter! People, you owe spirit now!**

**Also, thankies to my beta, who told me to keep writing when I was getting lazy~ You guys owe her too, yeah!**

**So, thanks to everyone who Reviewed/Favorited me or the story/Followed me or the story. It's been a while so I've lost track lol. Thanks to everyone for reading! Enjoy chapter six!**

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Clau shoved her arms behind her back, crossing them to hide the glowing symbols. I had seen how those symbols had distorted the air around her punch, and sent that Death Eater flying. They must enhance her strength, and probably quite a few other things as well. "What are you hiding?" I asked, wanting a better look at those runes on her arms.

"Nothing." She scowled, clearly in a bad mood. Was that due to the runes?

"Then show me your arms." I demanded. She was about to say something, when those two twins ran up. The American girls with the strawberry-blonde hair.

"Clau, Eva hasn't come back from Hogsmeade yet!" Cried Yue, her twin also looking rather upset. The light behind Clau, from her arms, intensified before vanishing completely. "Lets go." She said, walking briskly past me with the twins. She stopped momentarily and turned around, flashing her bare arms at me, before heading off.

There were no more symbols.

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That had been a close call with Ferret Boy, but luckily I don't think he noticed too much; at least nothing he can prove at any rate. I would definitely have to be more careful in the future though. At the moment, Eva was my main concern though. She was one of those snake people, so who would take her! She would've been back by now, so she MUST have been taken.

We raced through the Great Hall and out onto the grounds. I scanned the area for my three favorite lions, and soon found them sitting by the lake. The three of us darted over to them, and quickly explained what had happened. Luckily, Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to understand our worry, but Hermione stated that she was probably just late.

"She's not just late, she never is!" I explained, but Hermione just suggested that we go look in Hogsmeade. I nodded, agreeing for now. I knew she wasn't just lost, as did the twins, but maybe this way we could find some clues to where she was.

X-X-X-X-X

At the third shop we visited, we finally got an answer, at least part of one. Apparently Eva had passed through the shop to buy some sweets, before heading off with some snakes. As she was also a snake, no one had thought it odd. I knew better.

Several other stores later, and all of the answers pointed to the south end of town. We headed there, as we had been told. A group of snake people appeared ahead, but Eva wasn't with them. I knew it! "Where's Eva you snake bastards!" I yelled, being restrained by the twins as I flailed to get at the snakes. They had taken Eva! I knew they did! Then a teen with white blond hair stepped out of the crowd.

"You mean she didn't go back with you?" Draco asked innocently. The punk had snuck back here while we had been busy looking for Eva in the shops! I tried to yell again, only to have the twins stop me. I flailed, before instantly calming as my eyes locked onto an object in the snow. A bracelet. I looked back at the twins, and they let me go. I whispered something to them and they took up the argument with the snakes so I could talk to Hermione.

"Use a locator charm on that bracelet when I tell you to." I told her, and she nodded, not questioning me, as I had a determined look in my eyes. We all knew Eva was in danger now. At this point Yue was furiously cursing Draco out as Yuki held her back to stop her from maiming him. I nodded almost imperceptibly to my friends, before darting forward and scooping up the bracelet. The snakes were just reacting as I whispered a spell and jumped over their heads. I had never been so glad for magical enhancement spells in my life. "NOW!" I yelled, and Hermione sent a spell that hit the bracelet dead center. The bracelet began to glow, before zooming off. I was right on it's tail.

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I watched Clau run off, and darted after her, shouting a few orders. I raced through the forest, just barely keeping track of Clau by her cyan hair that floated behind her as she ran. She was always a good distance in front of me. Then, once she reached the manor, she stopped. Whatever she had been following hit the ground.

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I crouched in the snow and picked up the bracelet, assuming an anti-locator barrier was in place. The manor in front of me was dark and spooky, not to mention fancy. I stood outside the black gate, looking for something to tell me if Eva was indeed inside as I suspected. I looked at the snow, glancing around, before I saw it: A few small drops of blood. I noticed there was a small, scattered trail of blood leading inside the gate. I hoped it wasn't Eva's, though my Combat Training told me it was.

I stalked quietly inside the gate, casting a quick cloaking spell to hide me from view. I stepped quietly on the black path to the manor, making sure to be quiet. The path was free of snow, probably due to a charm, so I was lucky. Oddly enough, no one had bothered to lock the door. Was this a trap? Probably, but I went in anyway.

The hall was dark, but had small, magical lights every twenty feet or so to allow people to see. I made my way silently to the flight of stairs, ending up on an indoor balcony of some sort, with rooms on one side, and railing on the other. On the side with the railing, I could look into a room. Maybe a dining room, as there was a large table in the center. The room contained five men, all in cloaks and masks, and one other person. One of the cloaked men was stepping on the flailing person's back, attempting to make her stay still.

"Stop flailing!" he said, holding her down with his foot, but not hurting her much. The girl continued to flail anyways, despite the gash in her forehead. I looked closely at the face, there was blood on it so it was hard to tell who it was, but after a moment, I recognized her. Eva.

At that point, the Combat Runes on my arms exploded to life, the runes turning a dark, ocean blue. The runes shifted and roiled, much like the sea, and seemed to glow so much it looked like they were going to fly off my arms.

Just as the man holding Eva looked up, I jumped off the railing, and proceeded to drop kick him, sending him flying off Eva. I landed gracefully, skidding slightly, before darting at the next man. I punched him in the gut, sending him spiraling into a nearby wall, cracking the stone on impact.

I ran back over to Eva as the other three were coming to their senses, and scooped her into my arms, before darting out the door, heading back to town. The three of them were hot on my tail. None of us noticed the snake that had been watching from the balcony.

X-X-X-X-X

The village was soon in my sights, and my pursuers were starting to gain on me. I heard dueling up ahead, and burst through the forest and into the village, stunning both groups. "RETREAT!" I yelled, running up towards Hogwarts. Hermione thought ahead and cast a barrier spell on the snakes, one that would allow us time to get back to school. I congratulated her on a spell well done as we ran. She looked at Eva with worry, but I assured her she'd been through worse.

X-X-X-X-X

I sat on the grass, enjoying the shade of a nearby tree, as Eva and the twins wandered over. Eva was looking much better, her wound healed up easily by Madam Pomfrey. I looked at them curiously, before they decided to tackle me, sending me sprawling to the ground as I squirmed underneath them, trying to get away. I failed.

X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X

I walked across the ground, my lackeys Crabbe and Goyle flanking me, as usual. I was heading to meet the other Slytherin's that were on the grounds, but I stopped as I saw the School Governors, my father included.

Many of them had surly looks on their faces, no doubt due to the successful rescue mission the other day. I believe they were trying to get information on Combat Mages, but they certainly didn't expect one to run in and save their captive.

Said Combat Mage was currently near the lake, struggling to get Eva and those twin girls off her. The golden trio walked by, and she asked for help, but they just laughed and joined in.

The loud laughter drew some attention, and the Governors looked over. They didn't looked pleased when they saw Clau. They knew it was her, not many girls had cyan blue hair. One of them whispered something into my father's ear, before they all walked off.

Whatever he said, I'm positive it wasn't anything good.


	7. Chapter 7, Sticky Sticky

**Here's chapter seven, as fast as I could get it to you! Guess what? It's no Homework Weekend, which means… Updates! Yep! Thank my Beta, BornOneWing, for helping me actually plan out some ideas! **

**Fun Fact: Did you know I write the story one chapter at a time? Yep, I follow only a teeny plot line, and make up the rest on the spot! When I told my Beta, I'm fairly sure she laughed at me XD Oh well, it keeps me writing, because even I don't know what's coming up next!**

**Now… Reviewer Responses!**

**slytherinsal: Yes, Ancient Runes does and will [hint hint] have a purpose! Oh, and I generally share the combat mage's view on Pattern Magic: "Patterns are easy to remember, so I like them."**

**matt-hardy-lover-101: Glad you love it! I'll keep the updates coming!**

**Hidden-Spirit: Glad you're hooked now, and never fear, I shall keep updating! My beta will make me if I get lazy! Thanks for the compliment too! ^/^ I don't think anyone's told me that my writing is 'One of a kind'~ I'm so happy you like my writing so much!**

**Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/favorited [me or the story]/followed [me or the story]! **

**ONTO CHAPTER 7!**

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I walked down the rather empty hall towards the Charms classroom, a class that I regrettably had to share with those idiotic Gryffindors. The School Governers had begun to tour the school a few hours ago, and were currently walking towards the intersection of the hall I was currently in. Then, I heard a scraping sound coming from the stairs behind me. I turned around, only to see Clau grinding down the banister of the stairs on her skateboard, with her cyan hair flying beind her. She jumped at the end of the banister, soaring over me on her board, and almost hitting me with that long strand of hair she ties with black cloth. Then she raced down the corridor, and vanished from sight as she turned towards the Charms room. To be honest, I'm not sure who was more shocked: Me, the Governors, or the Golden Trio that was standing at the top of the staircase.

X-X-X-X-X

I stormed into the Charms class, ignoring the other students and storming right up to Clau, who was luckily alone for the moment, as the Golden Trio had yet to arrive. "Why the hell did you do that! You could've landed on me!" I said, outraged at the stunt. She shrugged.

"You were in the way."

"What am I, an obstacle!"

"An unwilling obstacle." She said nonchalantly, nodding. I twitched. There was just no getting through to her was there…? I sighed and stomped over to Blaise, flopping into my seat. He looked at me curiously.

"Whats wrong mate?" I just sighed and gave him a look.

"I'm an unwilling obstacle." I quoted, causing him to give me a weird look. "…I think I'll keep whats left of my sanity and not ask." He said, glancing over at the tiny professor as he started class. Clau was sitting with the Golden Trio now, as they had just arrived. The professor stood up on a pile of books, and started to lecture us about a new spell.

"Now remember, this spell is easy to cast, but will certainly come in handy. Don't forget to say the spell while pointing at one object, then point at the second to stick them together. So everyone, remember the incantation, and off you go!" Clau was pretty good at the spell, and was enjoying sticking the Weasel to various things in the room. I stuck Blaise to several bricks.

Then, the oddest thing happened, a spell hit me, and I felt something tugging me across the room. I then felt my forearm and hand connect to something warm. I looked down to see it was Clau, and she was holding my hand. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she stared at our hands for a moment, before trying to pull them apart. "We're stuck!" She admitted, giving up her efforts.

The professor came over and said the counter-spell, but to no avail. "You're just going to have to stay together until the charm wears off." He said finally. I sighed, it was going to be a long day. I didn't mind spending it with the spunky mage though… At least it would be interesting.

Blaise swore quietly from across the room. He had meant to make the two of us stick in kiss, but this worked too.

X-X-X-X-X

"Where are we going!"

"Ancient Runes." She responded, dragging me along.

"I have to go to potions!" I said, pulling her in the other direction.

"No. I like Ancient Runes better." She responded, digging in her heels. I couldn't drag her any longer. I tried to pick her up, only nearly get kicked in the face. "Ancient Runes." She said stubbornly. I sighed.

"You know what, fine. After that we're going to all of MY classes though."

"Yay!" She responded, jumping up cheerfully and dragging me off to her class. Why did she like Ancient Runes so much anyway? I personally found it rather boring. Wait… Could it have something to do with the runes on her arms? No, it couldn't be. I did resolve to pay closer attention in class though…

X-X-X-X-X

"I refuse to play truth or dare with Gryffindors."

"But the game's today!" She whined. She looked pretty cute when she was whining…

"No." I said flatly. I wouldn't do it. No way.

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I successfully dragged Draco to the game, much to his chagrin, and the chagrin of my fellow Gryffindors. "We're stuck guys, he won't go away if you glare at him." I chided, snapping the Weasly's out of their glares.

"But Clau-" started Fred

"We don't like him." finished George.

"Deal. Harry, truth or dare." I started, ignoring them. Harry shot Draco one last glare before looking at me.

"Dare." He said, and I grinned.

"Go tell the School Governors that there is a cult worshiping the giant squid in the lake, and sacrificing first years to 'their lord Cthulu' on every new moon." I dared. Harry sighed.

"Ah… Ah…" He breathed, hyperventilating slightly, before the twins shoved him to the Governors. He shakily ran over to the Governors and told them, before running back as Lucius glared daggers at him and the others freaked out. I laughed, drawing attention to myself, and Lucius nearly had a heart attack when he saw his son and I holding hands. It was easy to see the two were related.

After that, the game ended as I ended up having to run off before the older Malfoy attempted to kill me.

X-X-X-X

"In here!" I called quietly, shoving Draco into the Astronomy Tower, before following him in and locking the door. I sighed in relief. "We should be safe in here." I said, looking around. It was rather old and dusty, not to mention filled with odd items. "What's this…?" I said, brushing my fingers against a small bottle. The bottle clattered to the floor, smashing, and the room was encased in darkness.

"Clau! That was Peruvian Darkness Powder!" Swore Draco, waiting for the powder to filter out. I held still, when I felt something soft brush my hand. I jumped. Then, the powder filtered out and I could see what had touched me. A silver tabby was sitting coolly on a small table, and it was staring fondly at me. It seemed to be glaring at Draco.

"A…Cat?"


	8. Chapter 8, Stupid Cat!

**Back again! Told you I would be updating, and quite a bit this weekend! Mwhaha!**

**Slytherinsal: Sorry if the chapter wasn't quite up to my usual, it was a bit more of a filler chapter than anything, but I tried to make it interesting. I promise this one has a LOT more action! Glad you liked the skateboard scene though! When I was thinking of that, I went: "Hm, Let's freak out Draco today."**

**It freaked him out.**

**Oh, and I try to make at least one dare involve Cthulu [as I have named the giant squid in the lake] when the Gryffindor's play truth or dare.**

**Now, onto chapter Eight! BAM!**

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I stared down at the silver-furred feline in front of me. It stared back at me with green, slitted eyes. It looked rather friendly actually. "Hey Draco."

"Yes?"

"Did you lose a cat?" I asked. The Malfoy's were rich, and it was silver, a Slytherin color. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why on earth would you ask tha- Oh." He said, staring at the cat, who seemed to be glaring at him. "No. That's not mine." The cat proceeded to hiss at him.

"It really hates you." I pointed out, watching the cat glare daggers at him, before padding over to me. "Aww, good cat." I said cheerfully, petting it lightly.

"…Something is wrong with that… Thing." I looked at him reproachfully. The cat glared.

"That's not very nice. It's clearly a very polite cat." I said, making the cat purr up at me. "It just hates you." I added. He tugged on our still joined hands.

"Let's just go to the hospital wing and see if Madame Pomfrey can get us detached." He suggested, wanting to get out of here. The cat was weird, and he just wanted to get unstuck.

"Oh, alright. Bye kitty." I waved, before Draco tugged me out of the room. I trooped after him to the Hospital Wing, only to have Madame Pomfrey tell us that the spell had been improvised so that only the caster could cast the counter-spell, which is why the charms teacher couldn't un-stick us in the first place. At least the spell would wear off soon.

X-X-X-X-X

I was sitting on a stairwell, debating on what to do. I was rather bored, and I was still stuck to Draco, so my options were limited. Oh, and idea! "Draco, follow me!" I said, tugging him up and trotting down a nearby corridor, looking for a statue.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked in a bored tone.

"Hogsmeade. I want chocolate, and Harry showed me a passage. It should be around here…" I murmured, looking around for the hump-backed statue. "There!" I dragged him up to the statue, and tapped its back, causing it to open and reveal a passage.

"…This will take us to Hogsmeade?" He asked.

"Yeah, to the Honeydukes Cellar. You're buying me chocolate when we get there." I declared, dragging him into the passage.

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I walked next to Clau, our hands finally disconnected. Whoever pulled that stunt better pray I never find them. I watched Clau munch happily on her chocolate, and had to stop myself from smiling. She looked so cute with that dopey, happy expression on her face…

Wait. No. She attacked Death Eaters earlier, my father's friends. Not to mention she's a Gryffindor. I can't like her, I don't like her. I can be around her though… I mean, there's nothing against that.

Then I heard a crunch, and spun around. Five or so Death Eaters were behind us. How could I have thought taking the long way back to Hogwarts was a good idea! I saw Clau drop her chocolate, and get ready to attack, when all of a sudden the cat from earlier jumped in front of us, and it was glowing with runes. The runes were neon green, and they lined the cat's forepaws and back legs, along with its chest and back. I stared; the cat had runes just like Clau.

Then, the cat jumped up and slashed the nearest Death Eater, causing a deep gash in the side. A gash far deeper than any normal cat could have made. Then, as the Death Eaters were recovering from shock, there was a bright flash of green light, and in the place of the cat, a young man with fluffy, silver hair appeared in its place. The man had a lightly muscled build, and was clearly an agility fighter.

He vanished from the spot, and appeared above one of the Death Eaters, delivering a devastating drop kick from above, smashing the opposing man into the ground. Then he fired off three rapid fire spells from his finger tips, taking out a third man with ease. The other two Death Eaters ran to their companions, picking them up and sending spells at the new man, which he easily blocked. He sent a few of his own spells back, one of them shattering a Death Eater's left arm. The Death Eaters apparated away, taking their companions with them.

Now that the man was standing still, I could get a better look at him. He had green eyes, and was wearing a loose, white shirt and a pair of jeans. He walked over to Clau and picked her up, spinning her around and hugging her. I was stunned. Who the hell was that guy!

He finally set Clau down and looked over at me, a protective and slightly condescending look in his eyes.

"Draco," Clau started to explain, "This is my big brother, Nero." She said, and the man smiled darkly at me.

"You're the boy who was holding Clau's hand all day, right? Nice to meet you." He said, the dark smile still in place.

Shit.

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I walked sullenly to Ancient Runes, dreading the change in my schedule. I made a mental note to maim Blaise later, the bastard had done it as a practical joke. How the hell did he even forge my signature anyway! I stepped into the classroom, taking a seat on the Slytherin side of the room. I could see Clau and Granger on the other side of the room, chatting about whatever Gryffindors talked about.

Then, the door in the back of the room opened and a man strolled out. A man with silver hair. "Hello, I'm Nero, and I'll be taking over Ancient Runes for the rest of the year." He said, smiling. I looked up at him in shock. Oh shit, I was dead. He noticed his sister, and waved cheerfully at her, prompting her to wave back. The class could easily see the resemblance, even if their hair and eye colors were completely different. They didn't look too much alike, but just enough to tell they were related. Their lean figures and obvious confidence certainly set them apart.

The first lesson in his class was simply a code, using ancient runic symbols. The first to decipher it properly won a prize. I worked with Blaise, and I thought we were making rather good time, until Nero announced that Clau and Granger were the winners. I looked at them, Granger I could understand, but Clau? The code had been split into two parts, one for each person; how had Clau finished hers so fast? Several Slytherins had the same thought.

"Professor, she cheated!" One complained, "There's no way she could have finished it so fast!" Nero sighed, and wrote another code on the board.

"Clau, solve it." He ordered. Within two minutes, Clau had the answer. The class was in shock.

"How did you do that!" Asked a Gryffindor.

"Well, Combat Mages have to know Ancient Runes. It's kind of mandatory." She said, taking her seat next to Hermione. Of course! The Combat Runes from earlier, I knew some of those symbols had looked familiar, they were Ancient Runes! It made sense why Clau had been so adamant about going to this class now, she probably used the runes to cast spells and enhance her strength and speed! I was feeling rather proud of my discovery when class ended, and students started to file out.

"Malfoy, a moment please." Called Nero, and I stopped myself from flinching, approaching his desk. I stood there, feeling rather nervous as he examined me. He was about to say something, when Clau walked over. I had never been so happy to see her.

"Stop intimidating Draco, the snake's will get mad at you." She teased, dragging me from the room. Nero gave me a look as I was tugged out of the room, that clearly said: 'Stay the hell away from my little sister'.

Having a protective, not to mention skilled Combat Mage watching me like a hawk was not something I ever thought I would need to look out for. I should've known better.


	9. Chapter 9, FESTIVAAAAAL!

**THANKIES BETA-CHAN! She helped me plan the next three chapters, so rapid updates for all of you tonight [or is it morning by now? Whatever XD] She has the bestest idea's evah! *Glomps Beta***

**Slytherinsal: Somehow I think it would be unwise for us if Draco learned any Combat Mage techniques. I would rather not be blown like, twenty feet into a wall. Then again, it would be funny!**

**Oh, LISTEN UP EVERYONE! NEW THING BOBBIN RIGHT HERE! **

**Alright, so if any of you have ever wanted to ask any of my characters, or the hp cast a question, you can send one in a review and I can have 'em answer it for ya up in the bolded section before every chapter! Fun yeah?**

**Also, one more note here:_ The best Reviewer for chapter 9 will get to have themselves featured as a character in chapter 10! There isn't really an official deadline on this, it's just whoever's review/character I like best by the time I post chapter 10 tomorrow. You can be either a hufflepuff or a slytherin, so good luck! If you wanna be in it, just put a description of your character in your review! A name and classification [charmer, combat mage, etc.] would be good!_**

_GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!_**_  
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**Now, Chapter 9!**

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I munched happily on my dinner of steak and potatoes as the lions chattered around me. I noticed that the room went quiet though, and looked up to see the Potions Professor, that Snape guy stand up. He waited for the room to quiet down before speaking. "Students, we have prepared an extra wing on the fourth floor for our guests from Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang, who will be arriving tomorrow at noon."

We stared. This was very… Last minute. I was the one to speak out, naturally. "…WHAT THE HELL MAN!" I yelled in shock, causing several people to laugh at my outburst. It was expected, trust me. He stared at me for a moment, before muttering something about Dumbledore 'forgetting' to tell him until this afternoon, causing the students to laugh as he sat down. Man, I loved that man.

For the rest of dinner, the room was buzzing with news and rumors about why the schools were coming, which was to be expected. I had heard that quite a few rumors had been made about us American students before we got here too. Some of the rumors were pretty funny too.

X-X-X-X-X

We were all standing outside, the students from the other schools were here too. The girls from Beauxbatons looked rather chilly, probably because they were used to warmer weather. The guys from Durmstrang however, looked rather warm and were just in T-shirts. Well, whatever worked, right?

Snape then cast a spell to make his voice louder, and started to explain to all of us where the students would be staying. Apparently all the girls would be in the abandoned class room on the fourth floor, it had been charmed and magically enlarged to become a common room. The guys from Durmstrang would be staying in a similar set up on the sixth floor.

I traipsed after Hermione and Ginny as they led the French girls to their makeshift dorm, and I made some small talk with them. They were actually rather funny, which surprised me. They seemed so… Stuck up, at least around their headmistress. Guess it just goes to show you, huh?

We arrived at the room sooner than I expected, and the girls went inside, but they tended to get lost and had to ask us for help. Then, I had an idea: "Let's have a sleepover!" I said excitedly, and they all agreed. The three of us lions stayed downstairs while the girls pulled down blankets and pillows to join us. There were only about twenty-three of us total, a pretty good number for a sleep over.

Once we were all set up, I was going to suggest a pillow fight, but I stopped when I realized it really wouldn't be a good idea. I was a Combat Mage, and I would probably end up hurting them by accident, along with ruining the pillows. I looked to Ginny, who instead suggested 'make-overs.' The French girls seemed really glad with this idea, and I really didn't care so I just let them do what they wanted.

First, they cleaned my face with some kind of spell. I would need to learn that sometime, I bet they would teach me if I asked…. It was a real pain cleaning up so often when one trained as often as I did back in America.

After I was cleaned up, one of the girls pulled out a bag of supplies, stating that if a make-over was going to be any fun, they would do it by hand. One of the girls, a short blonde, gently applied some foundation to my face, stating that I didn't really need much, but that it would make the makeup go on easier. Some light blush came next, it was a ruddy/red kind of color, which was probably a good idea because I was rather tan and lighter colors wouldn't have showed up. Marie (The blonde) said it helped accentuate my cheek bones. Then another girl applied some cyan eye shadow, right on my eyelids, claiming that it matched my hair and would help bring out my eyes. My eyelashes were rather dark, so they left those alone.

Then they asked if they could do my hair. That would be a problem, to do my hair they would have to remove the black cloth that tied the strand in the back. I immediately refused. That cloth could not, under any circumstances, be removed. It would be bad for me if it did, and I refused to let that happen.

Luckily the girls thought very little of it and moved on to their next person, Ginny. I looked in a mirror as they worked on Ginny, and admired their work. The cyan eye shadow really did bring out my eyes…

X-X-X-X-X

The next morning, during breakfast, Snape stood up again and finally told us why the students were here. "There is now a new festival to be held between our three schools, something of a magical competition. The schools will be split into teams, and the team with the most points from the events will win. Events include things such as Dueling, Charming, Helping a Magical Creature, and things of that nature." He finished. "As Hogwarts has the most students, our school will be split. The Slytherins will be with Durmstrang, and the Ravenclaws will be on the Beauxbatons team. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs will be on a team together."

I raised my hand, and he glanced at me, before saying, "Yes Miss Clau?"

"Can all the American's be on a team too?" I asked innocently. He gave me a strange look.

"You do realize there are only eleven of you." He stated bluntly.

"I realize." I responded, and he looked at me oddly. The teachers had a miniature conference up at their table, and though I couldn't really hear what was being said, I could tell that the odds were in my favor, at least by the look on Snape's face. He had a problem with giving Gryffindors their way.

"Fine. The Americans are on their own team. The games will start tomorrow, classes are cancelled for the day for you to get to know your team. Good luck." He stated, before breakfast finished and the students filed out.


	10. Chapter 10, And so it begins

**HALLO! It's a me, Demonic-Kat! Wow, this is the tenth chapter already! This is my first chapter ten on a fanfic, EVER! I'M SUPER EXCITED! I promise this chapter will be epic!We actually have a new student here, Sal, who is in Slytherin house! Woo!**

**Oh, I should probably do a disclaimer real fast: Sal belongs to Slytherinsal and I, as Slytherinsal made Sal up and I'm writing Sal. All the other American exchange students belong to ME, so yeah!**

**Alright, and I actually got some questions for the characters:**

'**Clau, how tall are you?'**

**Clau: About 5' 6".**

'**Draco, is your dad an animagus by any chance?'**

**Draco: No, he isn't.**

'**Draco, why does your dad carry a pimp cane?'**

**Draco: IT IS NOT A PIMP CANE! IT REPRESENTS HIS POWER!**

**Clau: *Cough* Totally a pimp cane. *Cough***

'**Draco, if you were an animagus, would you transform into a ferret?'**

**Draco: I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!**

**Well , thank god he doesn't know who asked these. *Cough* Me and my beta *Cough***

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The American's gathered under the tree by the lake, it was pretty easy to get all of us together, as there were only eleven of us. We needed to make a pretty good plan, all of us would be competing in a TON of the contests, and we had to make sure everyone had enough rest and energy. I have never been more grateful to the shy girl that was next to the twins, she was our healer, and she rocked.

"Alright guys," I started, "Charming and Dueling are going to be the events we shine best in, so we're going to need to make up enough points in both of those to make sure we don't lose horribly to everyone else." The team nodded, that was easily true. We had a chance at winning, but it was slim, and it depended on how many points were awarded for each event.

The Golden Trio overheard us chattering, and wandered over. "Why is the dueling contest so important?" Asked Hermione. We just stared for a moment, before I spoke up.

"We're combat mages. Dueling is our life." I deadpanned, causing her to stare and the Americans to laugh. She was about to respond when she was tugged away by Ron and Harry when their team called for them. Sal was looking around, her brown hair falling down to her shoulders and her glasses shining slightly in the light. She sighed as she saw the competition starting to get to people, and how groups were suddenly becoming very secretive.

"Oh East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet." She quoted, looking around at the teams. I laughed and patted her shoulder, which was quite a bit lower than mine seeing as she was rather short.

"Wouldn't house names be more appropriate in this case?"

"No, because then I couldn't quote Kipling." She responded bluntly. Oh, Charmers were so fun to be around! Not to mention they had some crazy awesome skill, especially Sal. She was an Ancient Runes genius!

"So, who do you think our Team Captain is going to be?" She asked, and I shrugged. I had no idea, I know Snape and Karkaroff were stuck leading their respective students, and the other teachers did the same for their houses, but we didn't have a house head to lead us. Then, Nero ran across the grounds as a cat, darting to the center of us and sitting down in the middle of our makeshift circle.

"Hello everyone, I'll be your Team Leader!" He announced. It made sense, as he was also from America. It just sucked for him that he was so adorable as a cat, because Yue decided to glomp him.

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I sighed as our group finally came together, Blaise by my side. I couldn't help but watch the American students, they were laughing and goofing off, it was nothing like our serious group. I had no doubt that Snape would be livid if we started goofing around, and I sighed enviously. It looked so much more fun over near the lake…

"…I feel bad for our group." Stated Blaise, looking over at Snape again. I nodded, so did I.

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The Great Hall had been entirely redecorated. There was a banner floating above each table. On the far left the banner was the Slytherin House Crest, but with a red snake. The next one over was the Ravenclaw House Crest, with the raven holding a golden wand in it's mouth. The wand shot out three golden stars. Then the next table over was the Gryffindor House Lion and the Hufflepuff House Badger sitting next to each other. The banner was black and red. Finally, the last table had a red/brown wand crossed with a white sword, with several silver and gold stars flitting over the white background. That was our crest, for the Merlin Mages Academy. Now, under each crest was a floating score board, all of them read zero. Presumably, those kept track of the points we would earn.

I sat down at our designated table on the far right, and started to eat as Snape stood up and told us all of the events. The contest would last two days, with a celebratory dance to be held on the third. The events included a large dueling contest, a creature capturing race, a modified scavenger hunt (no magic allowed), a broom race, a maze, and a game of capture the flag.

Apparently tomorrow the scavenger hunt was first. All participating members had to take a slip out of the sorting hat, and they had to retrieve something or someone that was written down. The hat would then judge if the person or item you retrieved was plausible, as it could tell if you liked someone for instance, or if you thought them annoying.

After that, the creature capture would start, and you would have to find and bring back your assigned creature to the school to earn points. Last event of the day would be the Dueling Contest, in which each individual scored points for their team depending on how far they got in the contest.

I immediately volunteered to do the dueling contest and the scavenger hunt. I knew the scavenger hunt wasn't going to have many volunteers, as to win you might have to get an embarrassing item or be forced to tell your true feelings about a person, but I didn't care, it could be fun.

Sal looked over at me once I had signed up, and put a hand on my shoulder. "You're a better man than I am, Gunga-Din." She stated. I grinned.

"I really love you sometimes Sal." I responded, and she waved it off, going back to her food.

"Details."

X-X-X-X-X

I stood next to the other competitors in the scavenger hunt, ready to receive the slip of paper that said my item on it. There were five runners from each team in this race, and each truthful find in the game counted for ten points. Sal and three others were playing along with me.

The papers were handed out, and everyone raced off in different directions, including me. I looked down at my paper, and nearly tripped. It read: A boy you like. I twitched. I couldn't pick Harry, the girls would kill me, and Hermione would maim me if I picked Ron. I had no idea where my brother was right now, so that really only left me one option. I darted over to the Slytherin side, the paper crumpled in my hand, and grabbed Draco's arm, before tugging him with me to the Sorting Hat.

X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X

I ran after Clau, just barely managing to keep up with her. She was fast! We made it to the hat in record time, and one of the teachers put it on Clau's head. The hat thought for a moment, before declaring Clau had won ten points for her team. It was quickly moved onto another competitors head and Clau ran back to me. "Thanks so much!" She said, grinning, before running off to her small team before I had the chance to ask her what was on that paper. I walked back to Blaise, looking rather frustrated. This was going to bother me all day…

X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X

I cheered loudly with the rest of my team as Eva ran to the finish line, a rather adorable Unicorn foal in tow. It had taken her an hour to calm the poor thing down, and she finished third. Oh well, at least we weren't the Hogwarts team right now, they had to retrieve the giant squid…

X-X-X-X-X

I pointed at my next opponent, sending them flying and winning my second match of the dueling tournament. Apparently almost everyone was competing to earn points for their teams. To make it even though, as we American's were outnumbered at least twenty to one, our points counted for twice as much as everyone elses, and if we won, our total points would be multiplied by four, which was definitely an edge we needed.

X-X-X-X-X

I sat down at our table, munching absentmindedly on some fried chicken as I looked up at the banners, which now displayed the points for the day. The Ravenclaws and the French girls were in the lead with one hundred and twenty five points. The team with the snakes was in a close second with one hundred and five points. My team was in third with ninety points, and the lions and badgers were in a horrible last place with only fifty-four points. I felt bad for them, it was really only because they failed to get the giant squid, which in itself wasn't really all that surprising. Who the heck made those slips anyways!

I was too busy eating and talking to notice that a certain boy was staring at me from across the room. Sal noticed though. "Oh, what a wicked web we weave." She stated quietly, before returning to her meal. This was getting interesting.


	11. Chapter 11, Racking up points

**Chapter 11 FOR THE WIN! Here we go, I've got mad updating skills today! So anyways, reviewer responses:**

**Slytherinsal: Thanks so much for pointing that out! I'll go fix it soon! *Glomps Sal***

**And, of course, a thanks to my beta, who rocks my sox and various other things, like… Shoes! YEAH!**

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We met up under the tree again, after the broom race. Obviously Harry had won, with Draco in a close second. We came in last on the broom race: None of us could fly, and I adamantly refused to. I hated flying, I mean, who on earth likes to soar around on a thin stick hundreds of feet above the ground? Not me, that's for sure.

Then someone said that the semi-finals of the dueling contest were starting, and I got up, along with the twins. All three of us were in the semi-finals. We said our good byes before going to the large, cleared off area in the middle of the grounds that was used for dueling. The twins were up first, and Yuki easily beat her opponent, while Yue also won, but it took her longer. She was a ranged fighter after all.

I won my match too, without any difficulty. Then, the finals started, and we were in for a surprise. It was a team final, all surviving members of your team were able to fight at the same time. A barrier was placed around the area, to protect the people who were watching, before the match was to begin.

For our team, it was just me and the twins. The Hogwarts team had at least six people, same for the Slytherins. The French/Ravenclaw team had only four. Well, at least it would be fun. I turned to the twins, who already knew what to do. I nodded, content, and listened to them count off before we could start. "Three, two, one, begin!" They announced, and three flashes of light blinded everyone. By the time anyone could see again, my arms were laced in light blue runes. Yue's arms were covered in golden runes, while her twins were covered in silver runes.

The twins darted forward to take out the Hogwarts and French/Ravenclaw team, and I went after the snakes. I jumped up, drop-kicking one of the snakes to the ground, and swiftly ducking to avoid a spell. I darted right up to the next snake so that we were only inches apart, before putting both of my hands on his chest and sending him flying with a point blank spell.

The crowd was in awe of our abilities and I kicked a Durmstrang guy in the side, making him collapse. I jumped back to avoid two spells, and sent a spell at one of the French girls who was attacking the twins. In return, Yue knocked out two of the snakes with a spell. I took out the last Durmstrang student just as the twins were finishing up. We all turned off our Combat Runes when we finished, and I called out to the stunned teachers, "Does this mean we win?" I asked, grinning as Yue did a happy back-flip. Snape grudgingly nodded once he came out of his shock, and took down the barrier. The other Americans ran over and glomped us, causing me to become the bottom of a dog-pile. I squirmed out and started to run as I was chased by the others. We did odd things like this all the time.

I laughed and jumped over the twins head, before doing a back-flip over one of the downed snakes. The twins and I were now apparently objects to capture in our little game of 'tag'. I ran off laughing, and the teachers, along with everyone else, had no clue what was going on. Nero went over to them and said, "They're playing tag."

X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X

I watched Clau perform a back-flip, and I could only stare. She was so happy, with that silly grin on her face… Blaise clapped me on the shoulder and said, "You got it bad mate."

I hexed him.

X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X

I snuck stealthily along after Sal, who was leading me to the Hogwarts team's flag. Then, two Hufflepuffs jumped out in front of us. I was surprised, but Sal simply waved her hand in front of them. "These are not the students you are looking for." The now charmed students repeated it back. "We can go about our business." They stepped aside.

"You can go about your business." I grinned as we ran in, took the flag, and darted off.

"That was epic!"

X-X-X-X-X

I heard a scream, and ran to the noise, darting over and around traps by reading the Ancient Runes. I finally came across Sal, and I saw… That she was surrounded by boys! "HELP! They passed the infatuation trap!" She shrieked, freaking out.

"Alright!" I yelled, shoving through the boys and hefting Sal over my shoulder, before running like hell.

X-X-X-X-X

We all sat at our table for lunch, eating various foods. Right now, We were in second place, the Snakes were in first. Then, we all started talking about the scavenger hunt.

"So, what did you guys have to grab anyways?" I asked.

"I had to get a stuck up proffessor." Answered Sal. I nearly choked on my food.

"So you grabbed Snape!" She nodded.

"Why did you grab Draco?" Asked the twins.

"Well, the paper asked me for a boy I liked, and all my other friends were busy."

"You're so oblivious, but we love you anyways!" They chorused, and I stared. What did they mean by that?

Luckily, Snape decided to announce another competition that would be held. Apparently there would be an arts contest, each team could submit one thing, a play, a sculpture, a painting, a song, things like that. I grinned, that's exactly what we needed to take the lead!

"Well, we have until seven. We should get started." Stated Sal. She had a good point. We began to talk about ideas, until I suggested one.

"That's perfect!"

"I know! Can we do it, pleeeaaase?" I asked adorably. The team agreed, and we got started.


	12. Chapter 12, Rainbows

**Sorry this is a bit late! I got sick and couldn't type anything! Blame the Nyquil! I'm feeling a lot better today though, so I'm typing this up. Thanks to my lil Dachshund puppy, who refused to leave my side for the last two days!**

**Slytherinsal: Glad you enjoy being a charmer! That, and I have had powerful dreams~! [Mainly concerning this story!]**

**Hidden-Spirit: Read em all at once? Sweet! Well here's the next update!**

**LarkThatSingsAtDawn: Glad you love my story! You love Nero? He's available *Wink Wink* Thanks, the different mages was just something I thought of lol. Can't wait for your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: Along with my aforementioned characters, I also own Combat Mages, Charmers, Beast Tamers, Etc. Etc.**

**Oh, and ScoutingForGuys and I own Shannon Harrison**

**-Four Days later-**

**Eeeep! Sorry, I was busy! I had to get ready for a Japanese Exchange student that will be hanging with me at school! Sweet right?**

**Well that and I was geeking out over the new pokemon game (Don't expect to see me Sunday, I'm gonna be busy with my new Snivey) and being lazy. At least it's up now though! Enjoy!**

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X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X-Draco-X

I felt my eyes droop as the Ravenclaw Team continued to read their enormous book of French and English poetry aloud. Blaise was already snoring softly next to me, though how he managed to sleep while standing I would never know.

X-X-X-X-X

After about a half hour of torture, the teachers had heard enough and stopped them early. I was extremely grateful, the book was over six-hundreed pages long, and we had only gotten to page twenty. The team forlornly left the stage, taking that atrocious book with them, as magical curtains appeared, concealing the stage from view.

Magical noises were heard as the red velvet curtains swished in the breeze. About five minutes later, the curtains opened as the Hogwarts Team's reenactment of Romeo and Juliet began.

There was no magic used as the play finished the introduction and moved into a brawling scene, punches were thrown, and people fell to the ground. They even used a bit of fake blood, and I grudgingly had to admit it looked pretty authentic.

That is, until Juliet walked onto the stage fifteen minutes later. She had flaming red hair and an attitude that would've made the real Juliet faint in shock. Yes, the Weaselette was playing Juliet, and it was horrible.

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I thought Ginny was doing a pretty good job so far, and the play was just about to start the balcony scene. Harry/Romeo made his way through the fake garden (magically made I might add) and approached the tower. He said his lines and a red head appeared from within the miniature tower.

It wasn't Ginny.

I was stunned. Ron was standing in the tower, wearing a pale pink dress and looking rather murderous. Ron grudgingly hissed his lines between clenched teeth, and Harry leaned in to stage kiss him. They were just about to 'kiss', when Harry was shot through the set and off the stage to the left.

Stunned once again, I watched Hermione walk onto the stage and announce that the play was over while smiling brightly. I shivered. "Think Harry's gonna be alright...?" I asked tentatively.

Yue nodded. "He's Harry Potter. He's had worse."

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I paced the stage as I waited for our drummer to get here. Where was she! My spaz moment was interrupted as a Llama tromped up the stairs and onto the stage, a girl that was a bit shorted than me on its back. Said girl brushed her brown hair out of her eyes ( that were just a shade lighter than her hair color) as she hopped off the Llama.

I whirled around and darted over to her, shaking her by the shoulders. "WHERE. WERE. YOU. SHANNON!" I yelled. The girl was saved from my grip as her Llama head butted me. "Ack." I said as I fell on my butt. Shannon helped me up.

"You know, Hima-Llama is always late." She informed me, gesturing to her caramel colored companion. I apologized for shaking her, I had forgotten…

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I watched the stage turn into a metallic substance as the curtains vanished. An unfamiliar brown haired girl was sitting behind a black drum set that was outlined in lines of rainbow. That other girl, Sal I think was her name, was sitting behind a keyboard, while the twins were each playing a different kind of guitar.

White fog billowed around the stage, flowing off the edge like a waterfall. Then a voice echoed around the stage. "Colors of the rainbow…Rainbow…Rainbow…" Then, Clau appeared on stage, wearing all black clothing with Rainbow trim. She held a microphone aloft as she sang the first verse, the other instruments making a steady beat behind her. "So damn sure, you wanna look kind- 24/7 on my mind. All I ever wanted is to be with you, making me feel~ so brand new. I thought I could love no more~, one too many times before. Every time I look up to the sky, I've got you on my mind."

A variety of colored strobe lights flashed behind her as the keyboard and drums really picked up the beat. Students thronged at the stage, and I too was pushed in their direction. I stared in disbelief, they had thrown a CONCERT!

"I thought I could love no more, one too many times before. Every time I look up to the sky, I've got you on my mind." Clau sang, some colorful fireworks exploding above the stage and putting the other students as well as myself into a state of awe. "Colors of the rainbow… Colors of the rainbow… Colors of the rainbow… Colors of the rainbow…" She sang, repeating the chorus, before moving on to more of the song. "Colors of the rainbow shine so bright, every time I look into your eyes. It's the colors of the rainbow feeding my soul, over and over just like you do." Clau danced slightly as she sang, repeating her last few lines before singing, "Over and over, just like you do~."

The song ended and a new curtain appeared, this one a midnight blue, concealing the stage once more.

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I waited anxiously as did the rest of the students gathered in the Great Hall. Dumbledore had returned and was announcing the results. "The winners of this competition worked very hard, and clearly deserve their victory. The winning team is… The team from Merlins Mages Academy!"

I jumped up, glomping the twins as our tiny group celebrated. If there was one American trait we shared, it was to never give up!

X-X-X-X-X

I basked in our victory as I stared out at the giant squid in the lake. "So Clau, who're ya taking to the dance?" Asked Shannon. I froze, staring out at the squid, before relaxing.

"You know Shannon, I have a plan for that."


	13. Chapter 13, Bowties and Pink Toads

**Here's the next chapter! I have had SO MANY IDEA'S for this story lately, it's gonna be great! Plus it's summer break for me now, so I have nothing else to do but write and play video games! Obviously you can see which currently has my attention XD**

**Now time to respond to my ever loyal reviewers!**

**Ms. Scouting- Hima-llama IS amazing! *Gets glomped* Yay! I get Russia's metal pipes! BEWARE DEATH EATERS, I AM NOW ARMED!**

**Uwah~! So many 'awesomes'! I feel so loved~!**

**LarkThatSingsAtDawn- Cthulu is great! He shall be wearing a bowtie. *Neko Nero spazzes* I enjoy this immensely. He likes you too, he just bit me. Ouchies T_T**

**Slytherinsal- Ginny? Ah. Well some Slytherin snuck back stage to sabotage her and only succeeded in pissing her off. So she chased him into the lake. Yes, Ron in a dress in WIN!**

**Hidden-Spirit- Glad you liked the chapter! The song is called 'Colors of the Rainbow' by DJ Skeptic, great rite? Sorry I didn't hurry up and update, but better late than never right! Plus, I'll be writing a LOT now that it's summer, so, many chapters for you!**

**Righto, onto the chapter then! I worked hard on this, so enjoy alright!**

X-X-X-X-X

I walked into the dance with the other American students, feeling a bit out of place. Everyone was in frilly dresses and dress robes. What kind of party is so stuck up and formal? Not OUR kind of party, that's for sure! We were all dressed fairly casually, I mean, why party in uncomfortable clothing? Well the rest of the school would be in for a shock after they figured out what band we booked, not to mention several 'activities' we had planned for the party.

"Ms. Clau," intoned a clearly surly Snape as I just about ran into him.

"Hey Teach," I replied informally, watching him scowl. The small jar that was tied to my waist clinked against the metal studs in my belt, causing my red and gold swirled shirt to swish. Snape glared at the jar (though I'm fairly sure his face is just naturally like that).

"What is _that_?" he asked irritably, looking at the jar. I unhooked it from my waist and held it up for him to see. The inhabitant of the clear jar smacked a tentacle against it, clearly disliking Snape. "… Is that the giant squid from the lake…?"

"Yep!" I replied proudly. "His name is Cthulu~"

"That's not allowed at the dance, or in the school at all for that matter."

"He's my date!" I grinned. He stared at me like I was a maniac while the other American's snickered.

"Excuse me…?" he replied. I saw his eye twitch.

"See, he even has a little bowtie!" I pointed at the miniature black tie that the shrunken squid proudly showed off, milling about happily in the jar now that Snape wasn't so close. "Technically it isn't against the rules to bring the squid as my date," she pointed out cockily. Snape looked like he was about to retort, but his attention was diverted by some loud Gryffindor first years. Clau took the chance to slip away from him, regrouping towards the center of the room with some of the other students.

"I can't believe you actually brought the giant squid as your date," stated a somewhat surprised Hermione, who was towing Ron along behind her. Ron looked rather exasperated, but that was probably due to the fact that he had been (quite forcibly) made to wear a dress and act as Juliet in the play earlier. It certainly didn't help that the Slytherins viciously used that as a weapon.

"Of course I brought him! Cthulu is much better than an angry Ron," I replied. Hermione sighed and conceded the point, earning a chuckle from Harry.

"Hey, where's your date anyway Harry?" Asked a curious Sal, who had popped up behind me when I wasn't paying attention.

"Uh," he flushed, he had wanted to ask Cho Chang, but obviously she was still grieving for Cedric… Then, the twins popped up behind Harry, each grabbing one of his hands.

"We're his dates tonight," said Yuki calmly as her happy sister grinned on Harry's other side.

"Yup, he gets both of us! Isn't he lucky?" She giggled, acting more like a kid than a date. I grinned, the two of them were always like that. Yuki was like a guard dog while Yue was like a puppy.

"Good luck Harry, they can be a handful." After going on a school trip with them to the Salem Witches Academy I definitely knew what he was going through. I was the supervisor for the two of them, and after watching them fill two stories of the school with inflatable rubber balls, we were escorted off the premises.

"How do you keep them under control?" pleaded Harry as the two sisters started talking.

"I'm gonna have to say some powerful spells and a lot of luck."

Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco

I strolled leisurely into the great hall, examining the distasteful red, white and blue decorations as I went. Naturally I was with the other Slytherins: Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Greengrass and fortunately not Pansy. Apparently she was stuck in the hospital wing due to some accident in the corridors.

Blaise nudged my arm nonchalantly, causing me to glance towards him. I raised an eyebrow and he nodded slightly to his left. I looked to where he had indicated to see a growing group of students, including Clau and the Golden Trio. Honestly, why on earth did she hang out with them? They were such little do-gooders too.

Then I noticed what she was wearing: A red and gold swirled shirt, black cargo pants, and some sort of jar on her hip. I looked around and saw many other students (mainly Americans) also dressed oddly. What did they think this was anyway, a rave or concert? They ought to dress properly for the occasion.

Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau

"What do you mean we dress weird?" asked Hermione.

"You're all so formal and stuffy, this is a party!" I replied as the band finally started playing, much to the joy of the Americans. We had booked Nyght Kore, and American Wizard rock band. I grinned gleefully as Snape twitched. This was fun!

X-X-X-X-X

After two rounds of poker, someone spiking the punch bowls with firewhisky, and a game of exploding snaps, the party came to an abrupt end. It all started with an 'ah-hem'.

I turned around to see the pinkest person I have ever seen. This chick was dressed in pink from head to toe! "Uh. Can I help you pinky?" I asked informally, raising an eyebrow when she tutted at me.

"Oh this will never do." She promptly vanished all traces of party fun from the room, leaving it silent. The band had left a while ago, so that left us. Harry clearly disliked her, though I had no clue why. "There, now all that riff-raff is gone."

"That riff-raff was our victory party actually," I pointed out as she stared distastefully at my clothes.

"And who are you?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice, as if she was talking to a preschooler. Obviously it pissed me off.

"I'm Clau you toad. Who the hell are you?" I responded. The few whispers that floated about the room died.

"Excuse me? I don't think I heard you right." She smiled in a rather toady fashion.

"I said: I'm. Clau. Who. The. Hell. Are. You." I repeated slowly, like I was also talking to a child. Obviously that didn't go over well.

"I am Dolores Umbridge, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"You look like you'd lost a fight with a Chihuahua, how the hell are you going to teach us to fight?" Snickers filled the room at this, and the teacher was clearly losing her cool.

"Fighting is a nasty habit," she replied harshly. Yui and Yuki burst out laughing.

"You tell that Combat Mage who's boss!" They mocked, laughing. Umbridge's eyebrows shot up at this information.

"Combat Mage?" she inquired.

"Yeah, and I'm probably more qualified to teach that class than you are, miss 'fighting is a nasty habit'."

"Detention," she replied curtly.

"You do realize that isn't going to shut me up right?"

"It really won't!" confirmed Fred and George, who also seemed to dislike her. I have no clue who this woman was, but she was clearly up to no good.

_Bitch was goin' down._


	14. Chapter 14, Frozen Rage

**Thanks for reading! As I said, lots of ideas, so here's another update heading your way! **

**Slytherinsal- She really does look like a Chihuahua would own her in a fight. Just sayin~**

**Hidden-Spirit- Here is the update, and glad you liked it!**

**Fabluslyfamous- I liked the bowtie too. Go mini-'thulu! **

**K Finance- Glad you like it, more interesting stuff to come!**

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X-X-X-X-X

I sat in class, wishing I was anywhere but in that seat. Yes, it was the class almost all the students dreaded: Defense Against the Dark Arts with the toad. I had heard awful things about this class, and I intended to find out if the rumors were true or not. If they were, there was going to be hell to pay.

Then the pink toad herself swept into the room, heading to the blackboard and tapping it with her wand. Instructions started writing themselves as she ordered us to pull out our books and turn to chapter one. I flipped the pages until I found the beginning, and noticed it was on shielding spells. I was about to practice, when she suddenly called out "Wands away."

"How can we practice without our wands?" asked a curious student.

"You can learn from the book, no need to practice," she replied coolly.

"What about our OWL's!" cried several concerned students.

"You will know enough from the book to pass."

"How will we protect ourselves?" asked Harry loudly, making the toad glare at him. Several others were clearly wondering the same thing.

"Protection from what dearie?" she asked, a clearly fake smile plastered onto her face.

"From Voldemort!" replied Harry, making half the room shiver and shoot him dirty looks, toad included.

"He isn't back." She replied, voice getting softer and angrier.

"Then Cedric just died out of the blue! He was MURDERED!"

"That was an unfortunate accident!" she replied, raising her voice.

"He was killed by Voldemort!" He yelled back.

"ENOUGH! MR. POTTER, DETENTION!" she yelled. I had seen quite enough of this. No magic, no fighting, not listening to students… Worst of all though, was pulling this crap with Harry when the school was slowly starting to turn on him. It had happened quickly and efficiently…

"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU TOAD!" I roared, standing up just as Harry sat down. "HOW _DARE_ YOU GO SLANDERING HARRY'S NAME YOU BITCH!"

Most of the class seemed to freeze, the teacher included. I hadn't noticed, but in my fit of rage the runes on my arms had lit up, roiling angrily across my arms. Naturally, I didn't notice as I was too wrapped up in raging at the toad across from me.

"WANT TO PICK ON SOMEONE WHO CAN FIGHT BACK FOR A CHANGE!" I yelled, flicking my arm out and sending my desk flying about six inches away from her. It hit the black board and both items splintered into shards. The toad was freaking out, and clearly pissed.

"DETENTION!" she yelled back.

"GIVING DETENTION WON'T MAKE SOMETHING STOP EXISTING!" I screeched.

Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco

I was in total shock. Everything had so quickly. One moment Potter was getting detention, and the next Clau was raging and throwing a desk at the Professor! She was so pissed that even the Gryffindor idiots were backing off, and they were supposedly the brave ones! She needed to be calmed down and fast, or this was clearly going to get out of hand.

A large crack rang through the air. Yes, it appeared she had thrown another desk. This was not good. Most of the students had fled the room, including the Golden Trio (though that may have had to do with the Weasel fainting). Even Umbridge was running off, though it looked as if Clau was going to chase her.

I'm just about to do the stupidest thing I've ever done. I ran up to Clau and tackled her, knocking her off balance and sending the both of us crashing to the ground. She hit her head on the tile, making her combat runes flicker slightly. She flipped me off of her so fast I didn't even see her move. She was above me in an instant, one foot on my chest. Her eyes even seemed different… Almost slitted…

Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau

I snapped back to my senses and fell over, deactivating my combat runes. I hit the floor with a thud, landing on my back. "Urghh.." I groaned, propping myself up. I had a killer headache now.

"You're… Not trying to kill the Professor anymore are you?" he inquired, probably a bit shaken. I couldn't tell though, perhaps he had been through worse... I simply waved my free hand, the other cradling my head. It frickin' hurt! Though, I honestly should've expected it as my head did collide with the stone floor.

He actually looked rather concerned as he sat up and stared at me intently. I looked up at him, my eyes somewhat unfocused at the moment. He must've imagined something, because he looked at my eyes and then shook his head.

Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco

I must've imagined that her eyes were slitted, probably the glow from her combat runes throwing off my eyesight… She looked seriously unfocused though. She must've hit the floor harder than I thought. "Are you alright?"

She considered my question for a moment, before flopping back down onto her back and groaning something that sounded like a no. Well I needed to get her out of here quickly, that was my first priority. I helped her up and slung one of her arms over my shoulder, helping her down the hall.

Then her brother appeared. He took one look at the situation, taking in his obviously disoriented sister. I froze, unsure of what do to, but he simply picked up his sister and walked off. For some reason I bet that wasn't the end of things…

X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X

"This _High Inquisitor_ rank is bull," I declared, digging into my bacon and eggs. "Someone needs to teach these guys how to fight. They're like fish in a barrel." The Golden Trio exchanged a glance that I missed, but some others at the tables figured it out. They were keeping something from me; though considering my outburst in DADA a week or so ago it wasn't really surprising.

Then another announcement went through the school, alerting people of the Inquisitorial Squad or whatever the heck that toad was going on about. No one would ever join that, none of my friends at least.

Or so I thought.

X-X-X-X-X

My friends had just vanished. At least twice a week, they just vanished. The Inquisitorial Squad stalked the halls, and I, naturally, took to wandering around. With my friends gone it wasn't like I had much else to do.

"In the halls after hours?" someone asked, causing me to whirl around.

"Draco!" I asked, my eyes widening considerably.

"Obviously. What are you doing out here?"

"Walking, what are you- Oh no. No way." I said, staring at the badge on his chest. "Please tell me that badge is some sick joke or something."

"Why would it be?" he sneered, acting much more like the Draco I first met than the one I was slowly growing accustomed to.

"Because I personally take that as an act of betrayal!" I said angrily. "That stupid squads been after innocent people left and right, all under the orders of that toad!"

"Listen, you're going to need to go see Professor Umbridge," he said, staring me down coolly. No way in hell did he just say that to me. Were all of my friends just leaving! What was going on? Did I freak them out with my episode in the toads class? I was only protecting Harry! I bit my lip, nibbling it slightly as I worried.

I snapped back to reality when Draco grabbed my arm to take me to the toad. I proceeded to kick him in the shin and run off. Unknowingly I ran up to the seventh floor corridor and started to pace. 'I need to know what's going on' I thought, pacing down the corridor and turning back around, repeating the cycle. 'I need to know why my friends have ditched me. I need to know why everythings gone wrong'.

Then a door appeared a metal door in the wall. I stared, rubbed my eyes, and stared again. Nope, it was real. Well, nothing to do but investigate I supposed.

I padded softly over to the door and pushed it open. Inside I saw target dummies, at least forty students, and all of my friends. Yue, Yuki, Sal, Shannon, Harry, Ron, Hermione, not to mention a few others who I considered friends.

They were all staring back at me with mixed looks of shock and surprise. They had all been here, practicing and working together without me. I just stared.

"Clau, we can explain!" started Hermione.

"You don't have to," I said, the hurt look in my eyes turning to ice. I whirled around and left, running as fast as I could. The door vanished behind me. Why did this have to happen! I trusted them, and they abandoned me like that!

It wasn't fair. Why couldn't things be fair!

Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco

Clau ran down the hall, barely missing me as she ran. I whirled around, ready to chase her down, only to pause to look at her eyes as she passed. I was correct, I hadn't been hallucinating earlier! They really were slitted! She raced out of my sight before I could do anything though…

Honestly, what could I have done?


	15. Chapter 15, Crime and Punishment

**The next chapter is up! I just couldn't leave Clau wallowing in misery and acting like.. A 'Prima-Donna' I think is what Sal said. I just couldn't do it! T_T**

**Well I guess it works for you guys though, because you get another chapter!**

**Slytherinsal- yeah, she is inclined to go out of control. She knows she can't, but it's more of a… Genetic issue. You'll see what I mean in a few chapters. Oh, and Merlin's Academy is simply used to Combat Mages doing things like that. When you're training emotionally active/unstable teenagers to become Combat Mages you have to be used to it.**

**Disable her evil little blood quill? Unlikely that she'll try, but she won't turn the 'Pinkosaurus' (Love that btw) inside out. That's just how she is though ^_^**

**Draco will soon be back (next chapter) and yes, there will be Clau/Draco/Golden Trio issues lol.**

**TheDonkey- The line? There's a thing next to bold + Italic + underline when you edit your uploaded documents on the fanfic website, click it and you should get a line. (lol I'm playing tech-support!)**

**Glad you like my story, and that my grammar isn't atrocious! It used to be AWFUL though! Yue and Yuki? Their parents were boarding students in the Japanese Wizarding School, hence the names. No, I have no intention of making this an anime-esqe story. I don't know how I would do that anyway.**

**The story is simply from my imagination, nothing more, nothing less.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

X-X-X-X-X

"Stop that," ordered Nero as he flicked me on the forehead. I winced, I was getting another headache.

"But Nero…" I replied, looking downcast and considerably upset.

"No buts, your eyes are getting all wonky again, so knock it off. You know better than to let your emotions control you! Your job as a Combat Mage is to channel your emotions, not to let them get the better of you! You should know this by now!" He scolded, making me wince. I hated getting scolded by Nero, it always sucked because whenever he scolded me I knew I deserved it.

"That toad is ruining the school Nero! My friends have gone into hiding, she's picking on Harry-!"

"That doesn't mean you can throw a desk at her Clau, you know better than that! I _know_ how hard it is for us to control our emotions, but you have to do better!"

"She gave me detention for the rest of the year!"

"Don't you deserve those detentions?" he countered.

"…Yeah… I do…" While the toad was unfair and unnaturally cruel, she was in the right here as much as it pained me to admit it. A proper Combat Mage would never have pulled that… I know I was just trying to help Harry, but I had screwed it all up. I had let my emotions get the best of me and I probably scared off my friends and classmates… I felt so embarrassed and upset, I had messed up a lot worse than I had thought if my friends were hiding things from me.

"Good, at least you realize that you screwed up."

"I feel like an amateur again… Getting lectured on controlling myself.." I admitted. That sort of stunt I pulled usually only happened with rookie Combat Mages, and although I knew I had always had trouble with it, that didn't excuse my actions.

"We all make mistakes," he sighed, patting me on the head. "Most just aren't as dramatic or stupid as yours."

"NERO!"

"Just sayin'," he stated, knowing that he had at least taught me something useful today.

X-X-X-X-X

As soon as I got to the dormitory I found Hermione waiting for me. "Listen Clau-," she started.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone. I understand that you guys don't want to be around me anymore, after that stunt with Umbridge. I'm really sorry about causing trouble for you guys," I said, quickly cutting her off. It was my own fault they hadn't told me about the secret meeting place. They probably didn't even want to be around me anymore. I could hardly blame them; I wouldn't want to be around me either.

"Clau that's not it at all," she said, cutting me off as I started to walk towards the fifth year room. "We're not going to abandon you just because you threw a desk at Umbridge."

"… You're not?" I asked, confused. I had messed up, why else would they hide things from me?

"Do you really think so little of us? Of course we aren't going to ditch you! What you saw earlier was our own class to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts to people who can't fight. You were being so closely watched by Umbridge that we couldn't have you there. That and the fact that you can already fight," she explained, telling me the real details behind what happened.

I felt so stupid. How could I have thought that they would just abandon me for my screw up? It had happened before, but I should've had more faith in my friends. "I'm so sorry."

"You'd better be," sniffed Hermione. I hugged her tightly, which she allowed.

"I've been a real pain lately."

"Yes you have. Now stop wallowing in self pity, it's not pleasant to watch," she ordered.

"Aye Aye Captain." She just giggled. I really had screwed up, but at least I still had my friends.

X-X-X-X-X

Harry and I simultaneously knocked on the toads door, mentally preparing for the worst.

"Come in," she called lightly, and we both entered. I hated this woman, but I actually deserved to be here. Harry looked irritated, but there was nothing we could really do. I honestly couldn't pull any more of my stunts. I didn't want to be expelled, and while Dumbledore was forgiving, this toad wasn't. I had no doubt that with another one of her orders that she could obtain from the ministry, I could easily be expelled.

So best behavior.

"Take your seats, you'll be writing lines." Harry and I sat at our respective desks, parchment already lying out neatly on our respective desktops. I noticed my desk was stuck to the floor this time. We both began to pull out our quills when she stopped us.

"You'll both be using some very special quills of mine." She handed us each a black feathered quill, mine slightly longer than the one she gave Harry. "Mr. Potter, you will be writing 'I must not tell lies' while Ms. Clau will be writing 'Fighting is wrong'. Get to work."

We both started scratching out the sentences with our quills, I was watching the red ink though. Perhaps a magic quill? A few seconds later I figured out what the red liquid was, and it wasn't ink. I hissed in pain, hearing an identical noise from Harry. My hand had a deep cut that read 'Fighting is wrong' scrawled through my skin and some muscle. I glanced over at Harry and saw his cut was shallower than mine, presumably because his quill was smaller.

"Something wrong dears?" asked the toad in her sickly sweet voice. I gritted my teeth.

"Nothings wrong." I replied tightly as my skin and sinew healed. It was going to be a long night.

X-X-X-X-X

"Yes, that will do nicely," said Umbridge as she inspected our hands. "You're free to go. I'll see you both again in two days."

Harry and I left quickly, walking silently down the hall. His hand was red and sore while mine was bleeding lightly. "I'm not going to tell anyone," stated Harry. I understood his feelings completely.

"I don't want to give her the satisfaction either." Harry nodded in agreement. "Though I really don't have the right to tell on her either. As much as I hate to say it, I honestly deserve this detention." Harry gave me a sympathetic look and I sighed.

"This really sucks," he stated.

"Yeah. It really does."


	16. Chapter 16, Rules & Revalations

**Chapter sixteen at last! Here it is! *Hides from readers* Sorry for being lazy! *hides from Beta* I WROTE IT THOUGH. Been having TONS of good ideas lately! **

**BornOneWing- *Runs from candy throwing beta-chan* I hate Umbridge too! Or as one of my reviewers calls her - THE PINKASAURUS! You know it's true XD**

**Slytherinsal- That sounds like something Nero would do. Actually that gives me an idea… Heh heh heh….. **

**Oh, and concerning the angst - I HATE HAVING TOO MUCH ANGST! So I always gotta resolve it! Fight scenes however - Another story entirely. Probably because I write so many combat mages. .**

* * *

_X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X-_

A free study hall was rare with that toad running things, but it's better to just go with it. A cool breeze wafted across the grounds as I strolled over to our usual meeting place by the lake. A thick, black glove covered my left hand, for obvious reasons. Umbride was seeing me almost three times a week by now, and my hand simply wouldn't stop bleeding. That being the case, I had to bandage it and hide the bandages under a glove. While I knew wearing one glove was conspicuous, it was far less conspicuous than running around with bandages on.

I flopped down onto the grass, making sure to sit in one of the slices of shade from the tree. I was the first one here, which was rather unusual. The grounds were starting to fill up though, now that more students were being released from classes and alerted of their free study hall. I noticed Harry was among the students, and got up quickly, meeting him halfway. "Harry! Free at last huh?"

"Free from double potions!" He sighed happily. He took the class with the Slytherins after all- no way could it be pleasant.

"Lucky! I have to do potions tomorrow." I replied enviously, making Harry laugh. I glanced down at his hand, seeing if it was alright. "So, you okay then?" I asked, seeing his gaze move down to my covered hand.

"Yeah, much better off than you it seems." he replied, concerned. I waved it off of course, telling him I was fine.

"Don't worry, I've been through worse!" I assured the stubborn Gryffindor. Harry relaxed a little, which was good. He already had so much to worry about; I certainly didn't need to be added to that list. It wasn't like I couldn't withstand a bit of injury. I mean, we were safe here right?

Oh wait.

Never mind.

_Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco_

My Inquisitorial Squad badge gleamed from its place on my robes as I patrolled around the grounds. I quickly noticed Clau (honestly her blue hair makes it so easy to find her) and saw her chatting with Potter. Why on earth did she even bother to associate with that trash?

I turned away from the two as one of my family's owls hooted and landed on a nearby tree branch. I walked over to it, untying the letter on its leg. I opened the letter as the owl flew off, and a letter from my mother fell out, along with a newspaper clipping.

_Draco, I managed to find some more information on the Aleste case I was telling you about earlier. Apparently something happened during some of the court proceedings on the case. The only thing I managed to find out was a secret about the 'Aleste Beast'. When an Aleste is angered or hurt, apparently they turn into a beast! It seems so unlikely though, perhaps it was just a rumor? I didn't get any information on what the case was about, but I will soon enough! Hopefully that will make things clearer! I'll be sure to write you again soon dear._

_Love, Mother_

I read the letter carefully, before moving onto the picture. It was that young girl from the earlier picture, except all I could see of her was a brief outline. Then she disappeared into the forest in the background. After a few moments, the branches rustled and the reporters scattered. A tree fell towards them, sloppily hacked at the base. Had that girl done that? Perhaps I would research this as well… After all, Aleste's were purebloods too. Very sought after purebloods I might add, as their strength and unique abilities made them extremely desirable.

Now that I thought about it, that girl would be around my age by now…

Then Clau rammed into me, a red spell impacting her chest. I gasped for air as she flew into my ribs, and we were both sent sprawling to the ground. Clau landed a few feet away from me, and was quickly struggling to her feet. Her combat runes weren't active, and she was quickly hit with a blue spell, sending her stumbling. I wanted to know what the HELL was going on. She wasn't even fighting back!

_Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau-Clau_

I struggled back to my feet, only to get knocked back by another spell. I couldn't even fight back! That Toad would probably expel me, or Harry… A combat mage who couldn't fight was useless. So useless. I tried to dodge another spell, but it glanced off my shoulder. This spell sliced open my robes and left a shallow cut. I glared at the small group of Snakes as the blood started to well up. "Well, looks like you're pretty useless huh?" The blonde snake girl smirked, a girl and boy behind her. I glared at her, making her laugh. "Oh knock off the tough act, we were after Potter anyways, but you just had to get in the way." She had a superior gleam in her eyes as she sent two more spells at me, sending me sprawling across the lake. If I could fight I could have ripped her apart!

_Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco_

I could see Potter running towards Clau, Mudblood and Weasel in tow. They wouldn't make it in time. The Mudblood could see that, not that they stopped trying. Clau was hit again, and another gash sliced down her arm, making her hiss in pain. Her eyes were screwed shut, as if fighting something, but what?

The girl raised her wand again, and I stepped in. I cast a quiet spell and flicked it out of her hand. She whirled around, but put on a charming smile when she saw me. "Hello Draco! As you can see," she said, gesturing to Clau, "We're teaching this piece of trash a lesson. Did you want to have a go?" I restrained myself from hexing her.

"No, I think you've done quite enough. You're setting a bad precedent for the other Squad Members." He told her, chewing her out. "If you act like this you'll be kicked off the squad." He continued to talk for a good minute, and luckily the girl didn't suspect a thing.

"I understand! Thanks for the warning, we've certainly taught not to mess with us by now anyways." She flounced off with her friends in tow, and as soon as they were out of sight I rushed to Clau.

"Clau, they're gone. It's me, are you alright?" I asked softly, urgency lacing my voice. She opened her eyes, only to reveal they had turned ruby red, and the pupils had shifted into a diamond-like shape. She shut her eyes again, and the color was gone when she reopened them. I had definitely not imagined that, it had been far too real.

Blood dripped down her shoulder and arm, staining her white shirt. She nodded that she was fine, and tried to stand, only to fall over. The Golden Trio finally reached us as she fell. She passed out as I caught her, her blood starting to stain my own robes. She had taken quite a few hits, and was apparently vulnerable without her Combat Runes active. "Hand her over Malfoy!" ordered Harry, stepping forward. I glared at him.

"Don't be stupid Potter." I told him as I lifted her into my arms. "It'll be much faster if I take her. Fewer questions would be asked." My eyes held a sliver of genuine concern, but I was actually rather worried. The idiot didn't even fight back!

Apparently the Mudblood saw some truth in my words, and called Potter off. He backed away and I took off towards the castle.

_-X-X-X-X-X-_

Madame Pomfrey gasped as I walked into the hospital room, quickly directing me to lay Clau on one of the beds. I did as I was instructed and Madame Pomfrey set to work. She gingerly removed Clau's robe (which she had been forced to wear recently) and bit her lip at the bloodstained undershirt. The shoulder part of the shirt was cut and bloody at the edges, while her arm was sliced open and covered in blood. Specks of blood littered her shirt, and I was pushed gently from the room. The curtain was shut behind me as Madame Pomfrey worked.

_X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X-Clau-X_

I slowly forced my eyes open, feeling the rough texture of bandages and some soft sheets. I blinked a few times, eyes adjusting to the light. "About time you woke up," said a clear voice. I definitely knew that voice. I turned my head to see Draco Malfoy sitting next to my hospital bed. He looked irritated, and a bit worried. Wait, worried? Who was I kidding, he couldn't be worried. He was a traitor after all; he had joined the Inquisitorial Squad. They were worse than the Dark Side! I eyed him suspiciously, causing him to sigh and run a hand through his platinum blond hair. "You could have fought back you idiot," he scolded. I shook my head. "You could have!" he said, exasperated. "They hit you first; you would've been well within the rules."

"No, they would've found a way to turn it around. They were after Harry anyway." I told him, but that seemed to make things worse.

"Then you shouldn't have interfered!" he scolded. I tried to sit up, but was quickly forced back down by a hand on my good shoulder. "Rest!" he ordered. I really wasn't in much of a position to argue. I sighed and moved my gloved hand, only to feel some liquid. I noticed some blood started seeping out of my glove. I tried to grab my hand, but he got to it first. He ripped off the glove (and the bandages the glove concealed), coming face to face with my bloodied hand. 'Fighting is wrong' was scrawled into my hand deep enough to scar. His eyes widened and I yanked my hand back.

"It's nothing…" I muttered, hiding my hand again.

_Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco-Draco_

"It's a lot more than that! That's a blood quills work! Who the hell made you-" My voice suddenly froze. Umbridge. That was the only explanation. They were illegal though! Why!

"Its fine, I deserved it anyways."

"**You don't deserve that.**" I said forcefully.

"Why do you even care!" She growled, making me freeze again. "You're a traitor. _Traitor_. You're on her side after all," She said unhappily. A brief show of pain flashed through my eyes as she looked at her injured hand. It wasn't my fault, yet… I still felt responsible. Why did I care so much! I didn't even know anymore! I liked her, sure, but this much? It was just ridiculous. Plus those eyes, what the hell were up with her eyes!

"Your eyes were red you know." I said, making her head snap up. She looked frightened for a moment, just an instant, but then it was replaced with a guarded expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You do." I insisted, making her glare.

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" She screeched, causing Madame Pomfrey to shoo me away.

"Out! Out! No upsetting the patients!" She declared, shoving me out the door. Damn! I was so close!

Then I remembered: _'When an Aleste is angered or hurt, apparently they turn into a beast!'_

My eyes widened slightly as I thought about previous incidents. Clau wanted to be a Mudblood… Her eyes shifted… But… Those could've been coincidences, right? She never said she was a pureblood! Then again… The pieces really did fit…

I would need to look into this.


End file.
